SAN BERNARDINO >> Three people are dead and another critically wounded in a shooting at North Park Elementary School Monday morning in an apparent murder-suicide.
“Two adults are deceased in a classroom,” San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan posted on Twitter.
One of the victims is a teacher, according to Maria Garcia, a spokeswoman for San Bernardino City Unified.
Jonathan Martinez, 8, was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, Monday morning where he later died of his injuries following the shooting. A classmate, 9, is currently in stable condition. Police do not believe children were intentionally targeted in the shooting.
“Tragedy has again befallen our city,” said Lt. Mike Madden during a press conference soon after the shooting.
According to the San Bernardino City Unified School District, the incident was isolated to the North Park campus at 5378 H Street. Multiple police agencies, including the San Bernardino Police Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, the Rialto Police Department and California Highway Patrol responded to Monday’s shooting, along with the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
Hundreds of frightened parents flooded the streets around North Park Elementary and nearby Cajon High as they tried to pick up their children.
“It’s going to be all right,” said grandmother Regina Hamilton, hugging a stranger outside Cajon High. “If we be patient, they’re going to bring our kids to us.”
But the knowledge that two children were wounded in the shooting brought her to the brink of tears.
“My baby is safe, but how can I rejoice in that when I know other babies aren’t?” Hamilton said.
Paula Garcia and her family drove to the school soon after hearing about the shooting Monday morning.
“We didn’t know what to do at first,” she said as she stood across the street from the school’s field, watching armed officers and deputies escorting hundreds of children to awaiting buses.
After several nervous minutes Garcia called out, “I see him!”
The relieved parents craned their necks scanning for their son’s blue and white striped T-shirt.
“We were all the way in Moreno Valley,” said Shar Lemus, standing with her husband Greg outside Cajon High. They have two students attending North Park. “We hauled butt over here to see here what was going on, because we didn’t have any information. We still don’t.”
Medina said she has three children attending schools in the district, none of them at North Park.
“I am still a little shaken up,” school board vice president Abigail Medina said. “A lot of (school board members) have our children in the school district, so it hits home. It’s a terrible incident.”
Burguan asked residents to stay away from North Park Elementary during the investigation. Students were taken to Cal State San Bernardino, while their parents are asked to nearby Cajon High School for identification and will be reunited with their children there. Parents are required to bring photo identification for pick-up, a process that would take several hours, police warned.
In the meantime, North Park students were being made comfortable in a CSUSB gym, with sandwiches, movies, games and glow sticks, as well as Sherlock, the San Bernardino Police Department’s community affairs dog.
“Be patient with the delay of students coming out of the school,” Medina said. “Your children’s safety is the primary importance, and just be patient with the process as the children are leaving the school.”
Former San Bernardino City Unified school board member Judi Penman said the school’s police department “is very well prepared” for situations such as the shooting Monday at North Park Elementary.
“It is one of the most organized and well-prepared police departments around,” she said. “It interacts and trains with the city police department, and they are well prepared for this type of situation.”
School police previously worked with city officers in the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack.
“What I am surprised at is how this person got onto the school campus. The schools are very safe and it is extremely difficult for a stranger to get on campus,” Penman said.
Marie Cabrera, of San Bernardino, is a member of a prayer group that prays to the sites of violence in the Inland Empire.
On Monday, she found herself caught up in one, as she has two children who attend North Park Elementary.
“I believe that my kids are safe,” she said. “We thank you for all your prayers and your support on Facebook. … Thank you so much, God bless you.”
